Freedom of Information Act

PLEASE NOTE: If you are seeking personal records on yourself (i.e., security, medical, personnel, applicant, etc.) or the reason why you were denied a position with this Agency, you will need to submit a PRIVACY ACT (PA) request instead of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. To submit a PA request, click here.

The goal of the NSA/CSS Freedom Of Information Act/Privacy Act Office is to release as much information as possible, consistent with the need to protect classified or sensitive information under the exemption provisions of these laws.

The Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) generally provides that any person (with the exception of another federal agency, a fugitive from the law, or a representative of a foreign government) has a right, enforceable in court, to request access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions thereof) are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions. As part of the Agency's compliance with the Electronic FOIA (E-FOIA) requirements, NSA/CSS has begun to post FOIA information that will inform the public of NSA/CSS missions and functions. For information on how to submit a FOIA request, please see the NSA FOIA Handbook.

President Bush signed Executive Order (EO) 13392 on 19 December 2005, setting new standards for Federal Agency FOIA programs by ordering that agencies emphasize a new citizen-centered approach to the FOIA with a results-oriented focus (EO 13392). In response to that EO, NSA has established a FOIA Requester Service Center and has appointed a Chief FOIA Public Liaison Officer. The FOIA Requester Service Center serves as an initial point of contact for FOIA requesters to receive status updates and any appropriate information about their current requests. The Chief FOIA Public Liaison Officer is someone to whom requesters can raise concerns about the service received from the FOIA Requester Service Center. Contact information follows:

Privacy Act

The Privacy Act (PA) protects an individual's privacy by putting controls on federal agencies in the collection, use, maintenance, and dissemination of personal information. In addition, it entitles individuals to access federal agency records or to request an amendment to records that are maintained in a file retrievable by an individual's name or personal identifier, except to the extent that information is exempt from release. Individual, in the context of the Privacy Act, is defined as a U.S. citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The Privacy Act also requires that agency records be accurate, relevant, timely, and complete, and amendments are limited to these criteria. However, amendments are normally restricted to correcting factual errors and not matters of official judgments, such as performance ratings, or subjective judgments that reflect an individual's observation, evaluation, or opinion.